All campus juniors and many sophomores will arrive at school at 7:45 a.m. to take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), Oct. 10. The PSAT is a practice version of the Suite of  Assessments (SAT) which is needed for college applications. The PSAT not only helps prepare students for the real test, but also can determine what scholarships students are eligible for.

Juniors are required to take the PSAT and are administered the test for free. Sophomores can take extra spots and pay $16 to take the test as well. For many juniors, this is their second year seeing the test, as a lot of them chose to take it last year.

Janae Shew, ‘20, will be taking the test for her second time. She thinks the PSAT is a good way to get familiar with the format of the SAT, and that it is a good chance to figure out what to expect from the real thing.

“I think the PSAT is beneficial, because then we have a pretty good idea of what the SAT is going to look like when we take it, and it won’t stress us out as much,” Shew said. “The thing about practice tests is they’re going to get us used to the format. While it’s obviously not going to be the same information or the real thing, we will know what to expect when it comes to the SAT. I do think it is worth taking, solely for the fact that I know what to expect from the test.”

The opportunity for students to take the PSAT on campus was set up by the academic advisor, Evangelina Tello. She explains that this is a chance for students to study and begin preparing for the SAT. Tello encourages all underclassmen to take the test one or even three times before their senior year.

“It really gives students an idea of where they are regarding their SAT abilities,” Tello said. “The second semester of junior year, juniors are highly recommended to take the SAT for college requirements. This is a great opportunity for students to get one last practice during the first semester, before the real thing (SAT) in the second semester. I highly recommend sophomores and even freshmen to take the PSAT again so they just kind of get an idea once they receive their scores second semester to see where they are and where they can improve. I hope that students in general just take advantage of this opportunity that we are able to provide the PSAT on our campus.”

Junior Toryn Triplett interviews academic advisor Evangelina Tello on the benefits of the PSAT in the following podcast.

Freshmen and sophomores have the option of whether or not they would like to take the test. Adalyn Richardson, ‘21, believes that the PSAT is helpful in becoming as prepared as she can be for the SAT, she thinks that practice is very beneficial in making something successful.

“The PSAT is extremely beneficial for the upcoming SAT,” Richardson said. “If you are familiar with something, you tend to have less stress and more encouraging results. The PSAT will prepare you and help you be able to do the SAT with a more confident attitude. As Mrs. (Katie) Reneau taught me in Math A “practice makes permanent,” this saying has encouraged me to take all opportunities for practice to have an outcome of a permanent result.”

Seniors will either be taking the SAT this year or have already taken it. Griffin Schmidt, ’19, thinks the PSAT did help prepare him for his test but wishes he had done more preparation on his own time for the test.

“The PSAT helps you a lot for the SAT; it gives you an idea of what the SAT will be like,” Schmidt said. “My main concerns were doing poorly on the test. I didn’t prep for it much and I wish I had taken more time to study and prepare myself for the test.”

The PSAT can be the start of many academic opportunities involving college. Check-in begins at 7:45 a.m. and the test starts at 8 a.m. in the FC gym. All students are required to bring a calculator.

For more articles, read COLUMN: Small school, big dreams and Homecoming Happily Ever After: 34th annual FC homecoming.

This author can be reached via Twitter @toryntriplitt email Toryn Triplitt.